Five Top Travel Apps

Travel season is coming up and it’s time to post a list of great travel apps to make our lives easier. Last year, we featured a list of ten top travel apps for IOS and/or Android devices in the newsletter and on the WIH blog. This year, we asked our own tech guru Liz Weiman to add to that list by recommending five additional top travel apps. Happy travels!

1.The Packpoint Packing List Travel app (Free – iOS, Android, others) takes the pain and suffering out of packing. It asks you some simple questions about the nature of your trip (business or personal etc.), and then generates a packing list and a checklist based on your answers. The list can then be customized and saved as a template for future trips. In addition, it makes recommendations based on weather reports from the area, and allows you to share your list with any traveling companions via a personalized and private website set up just for that purpose. If you like to compare apps, Packing Pro is another similar packing app to check out.

2. Want to find out how long the airport security line is? The attractive and easy Miflight (Free- IOS) gets up-to-date information from travelers around the world. You simply plug in your airport, terminal, and gate, and you will get the estimated wait time.

3. Worldmate Travel Plans & Flight Tracker

(Free – IOS, Android) This app can function as your own personal travel assistant. All that is needed to forward all confirmation emails to the Worldmate email address, and the app generates a afull, itemized trip itinerary. If you pay for the premium version, you will additionally receive notifications letting you know about flight delays and airport gate changes.

This app is your own personal tour guide. It frees you up from burying your head in a tour book or scanning your phone for information when you are right in front of your chosen travel site. Instead, all information derived from Wikipedia and more is read to you. Reviewers have likened this app to having your own tour guide in your pocket. The premium version allows you to download content offline so you are not in danger of incurring roaming charges.

5. Tipulator- Tipping is a very selective activity, and the amount you leave can cause offense, depending on where you are traveling when you are doing it. Tipulator is a calculator-based app that helps with splitting tips. There are two other apps, Globe Tipping/Tipping Bird (.99 for IOS, Free for Android), which help with the tipping amounts in the context of the culture you are traveling within, and they also suggest tip amounts for different kinds of activities.

Lagniappe: We always like to give extra, so here is an additional app that you might find very handy.

Whether you are traveling, taking a “staycation” or looking for a great food app, try Foodspotting (Free – IOS/Android). This app contains reviews from locals from all over the world complete with pictures, details, and ratings.

For updated app information, tips and tricks articles, and “cheatsheets” you can go to Liz Weiman’s blog at lessonswithliz.net.